The Proper Perspective

The Proper Perspective

The Proper Perspective

From the Editor: On May 1 Dr. Fredric

Schroeder, Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, wrote a thank-you

letter to Jamie Hilton, President of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind.

On one level the note was a courteous gesture, an expression of personal and professional

gratitude for his inclusion in an event which he had very much enjoyed. But the letter he

wrote articulates the situation in the blindness field today and describes the startling

changes that have taken place in it during the past twenty years. Here is the text of Dr.

Schroeder's letter:

Jamie C. Hilton, President

National Council of State Agencies

for the Blind

Commission for the Blind and

Visually Impaired

New Jersey Department of Human Services

Newark, New Jersey

Dear Ms. Hilton:

I want to thank you for inviting me

to participate in last Wednesday's reception honoring Dr. Jernigan. His selection as the

first-ever recipient of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind's Lifetime

Achievement Award represents an historic moment in the affairs of blind people in America.

Jamie Hilton and Kenneth Jernigan sit chatting at a table

during the NCSAB recepiton.

Not so very long ago blind people and agencies

for the blind found themselves on opposite sides of many, perhaps most, major issues. In

my own case I remember the resistance and outright hostility I faced as a young blind

person when I sought to enter the field of Orientation and Mobility. As you know, my

interest in pursuing a career as a cane-travel instructor resulted in a bitter split

between orientation and mobility professionals and blind people organized through the

National Federation of the Blind.

But that was twenty years ago, and that time is

past. A transformation has occurred in work with the blind, and that transformation is due

in no small part to Dr. Jernigan's leadership in bringing cohesive, focused action to

formerly disparate elements in the blindness field.

Much of what is central to rehabilitation

philosophy today is ideas (often unpopular at the time) which he pioneered decades ago.

Indeed it is very nearly impossible to overstate the key role Dr. Jernigan has played in

our field. His influence has been and continues to be immeasurable.

Too often the Federation has been viewed as

nothing more

than a political action organization; and, of

course, in one

respect it is certainly that. However, at its

most fundamental

level the Federation is an organization of blind

people who

believe in one another and who demonstrate that

belief through

action. By believing in me and by standing with

me in the face of

bitter opposition, the Federation helped me

sustain the

determination I needed to pursue my professional

goals. That was

my experience, and it has been the experience of

countless other

blind people.

Through collective action the Federation shows

blind people that they need not live in poverty and isolation but instead can live as

fully integrated members of society. To speed the day when blind people will attain true

social and economic integration, they must begin to work in partnership with the

governmental and private agencies charged with providing services. But it must be a

partnership based on mutual respect, which means that the governmental and private

agencies must also be willing to work in true partnership with organizations of the blind.

Dr. Jernigan has taught us the power of collective action, and it is now time to put that

knowledge into practice in new ways by extending the power of collective action to the

work of organizations of and for the blind.

I was deeply honored to represent the

Rehabilitation Services Administration and to stand with my colleagues—you and the

other directors of state rehabilitation agencies; Mr. Carl Augusto, representing the

American Foundation for the Blind; Mr. Kurt Cylke, representing the National Library

Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; Ms. Denise Rozell, representing the

Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired; and many

others—to see Dr. Jernigan recognized for his many contributions. It was truly an

historic moment. I know that it must have touched him very deeply to know that his many

years of service, of pressing the system to do more, of faithful determination to fight

for the rights of blind people (even when his views were unpopular) have resulted today in

unprecedented harmony and cooperation in the blindness field. As he said last Wednesday

evening, "There is great strength in collective action. Great opportunity comes by

working together toward common goals, but most of all great satisfaction comes from

knowing that together we have done our individual and collective best to move blind people

closer to the day when they will have the encouragement, training, and self-respect to

live normal lives as normal people."

I thank you again for allowing me to be part of

last Wednesday's celebration. By honoring Dr. Jernigan, you have honored the individual,

and you have recognized the emergence of a new day, full of promise, in the lives of blind

people everywhere.

Sincerely, Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D.

Commissioner

cc: Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, President Emeritus

National Federation of the Blind

[PHOTO/CAPTION: President Maurer (left) and Dr.

Jernigan (right) shake hands at the NCSAB reception.]